Family Guardians
by Princess Rahnee Honey Lizard
Summary: Tells of the fall, rebirth, and second chance of Master Wuxi.
1. Author's Note

While this story was originally called The Dragon Lady, I realized there were two different viewpoints. One viewpoint is Master Wuxi's, and the other belongs to the Dragon Lady. I decided it would be best if I just told two separate stories. While they both follow the same time line, they contain completely different events. Just bear with me, though. They'll both get written, but I also have work and classes to think about, okay?


	2. Shadows

More than 130 years before the Dragon Warrior was chosen, more than thirty years before the being known simply as the Dragon Lady was born, a struggle took place on an island off the coast of China. The island was home to the palace where Master Wuxi had taught students and invented his signature hold. The palace itself was deserted as a lioness and a panda battled along shining steps and open-air halls.

The panda wore black armor, and he had a large notch in his left ear. His eyes glowed orange with rage as he fought. The lioness had soft, gold fur, and glimmering blue eyes. Her black clothes were made of a strange material in which embroidered dragons seemed to swim across the surface. She tried to kick the panda, but he dodged and caught her leg under her knee and her ankle. She hopped once, twice, as if she were trying to get free, and then she kicked the panda in the chin.

It was enough, and he fell, stunned. The lioness easily lifted the panda and placed him within a small building that stood nearby. She locked the stone door by moving the board into place. Then she rested against the door, hoping the panda would calm down. As she looked down, she noticed an unnatural crack in the ground. It grew wider and wider, and louder and louder, until she was standing on nothing at all.

Looking into the darkness below her, she realized what she would have to do to calm down her angry friend, and she disliked it immensely. Unnatural cracks had also appeared on the door behind the lioness, but she was paying more attention to the ground. The door exploded, but it was too late. The flying debris collided with her, and she fell into the crevasse, temporarily losing her levitation.

…

A pile of rocks at the bottom of the cavern quivered and exploded. The lioness stood in the center and shook herself, dirt and rocks flying in every direction. She lifted her left arm and received a wave of pain. Her sleeve was torn, and her elbow was covered in blood. She ran her fingers over her arm, and she could feel the bones knitting together.

"Oh, my. I never realized the smaller creatures were so…breakable."

"Of course not, _dragon_."

The lioness turned to find the panda behind her, standing some feet off. The panda stomped the ground, and the lioness leapt up, dodging the spikes that grew from the panda's attack. Her claws sunk into the stone above, and she lifted herself up into the large crack. The panda angrily punched the wall of the cavern, and the lioness climbed up the stone, racing the spikes in the wall behind her.

Her sixteen claws caught the stone as easily as if she were clawing silk, but just like silk, if you pull too hard…Her paw slipped, sending a cascade of rocks onto the panda below. He roared in anger as a rock bounced off his head, and he punched the other wall. He kept punching the walls, and the lioness leapt from side to side of the crevasse, dodging spikes and racing for the surface.

The crevasse collapsed in on itself, almost catching her tail as the lioness climbed out. The ground grew still, and the lioness stretched out on her back, trying to catch her breath. A large black paw was thrust out of the ground just inches from her tail. The panda climbed out of the ground, coughing slightly on the dirt and debris.

He towered over the lioness, as angry as ever. So strange to see such anger in such an adorable face. He snarled, and the ground shook. "Wuxi…," the lioness whispered. Wuxi roared this time, and the quake got worse. It seemed as if the very buildings were bouncing on their foundations. The lioness thrust the end of her tail into Wuxi's face, flicking it across his nose. He sneezed, and she used the moment to get behind him.

Using her legs, she pulled Wuxi's arms into a hammerlock. She then hit a series of points on the back of his head and neck, temporarily paralyzing him. The lioness jumped off before the panda hit the ground. She heard a roar and turned to see a huge red-orange pillar towering over the trees toward the clouds. The lioness turned back toward Wuxi, realizing that, though he was stunned, he was looking at her, eyes still blazing orange.

"Brother, what have you done?"

He said nothing because he could not speak. The lioness turned away and ran. Wuxi struggled against the nerve attack, fueled by anger and adrenaline. He took a deep breath and exhaled the stale air in his lungs. He climbed to his feet and took off at a limping run.

The lioness stood on a ledge overlooking the island. She could see the lava coursing down the mountain, burning and covering everything in its path. Good thing the place was deserted. She turned to see Wuxi running toward the ledge; his limp was gone. The panda got to the base of the cliff and started to climb. The lioness turned and ran up the steps of the Shining Palace to Master Wuxi's personal meditation deck.

Wuxi climbed over the edge and spotted the lithe, gold and black form running up the stairs. He sprinted after her onto the meditation deck. The lioness rested on a platform in the middle, panting hard. "I'm sick and tired of this. All of it!" Wuxi said, pointing his finger at the seemingly tired lioness.

She quickly reached out and snagged his finger. Wuxi froze and then gave a resigned sigh. The glow of anger in his eyes dimmed slightly. "I guess I always knew it would come to this…but I never thought it would be you, Re," he said.

"Where is Pantera? Shouldn't he be the one? After all, without him, I would have been dead long ago. His blood flows through my veins, keeping my heart beating long after it should have stopped. He called me his son. You called me your brother. Yet, when I somehow _displeased_ him, he turned me into a panda! As, as some sort of punishment!"

His eyes glowed with anger again. "It was never a punishment," Re said quietly. "Then what was it?" Wuxi said angrily. "He was trying to teach you to be humble again," she said, still holding his finger. "Ha, nobody likes pandas. No one respects them. Especially not in kung fu," he said. "We do," Re said.

"Then why have you not turned into a panda before? You dragons are hypocrites."

"I am not supposed to yet!"

The fur on the back of Re's neck stood up, and she lifted her pinkie. "So you're going to kill me now, is that it?" Wuxi asked, almost as if that had been his plan all along. "Brother, you don't know the true power of your hold, do you?" Re said. She shook her head and twisted fingers of her right paw into his armor. She flexed the pinkie of her left paw and said, "See you on the other side."

The gold ripple danced over the island and across the waves then faded from sight. Re opened her eyes to find she was tightly hugging a panda cub. He wore a pair of green shorts, and there was a notch in his left ear. He moaned as he gained consciousness. "Ow, it feels like my finger was ripped off," he said. He lifted his right paw to find his index finger was bright gold.

"Huh?"

"Sleep now, Brother. When you wake, the memories will hurt worse than your finger," Re said, placing her paw over his eyes. He fell asleep, and she cradled him carefully in her arms. Re let the lioness slip away, slipping into her true form. She ascended, her clothes flapping in the wind, and her serpentine body winding through the sky.

Down below, something climbed out of the lava. It was feline in shape, and it staggered away from the lava flow. Its boots left footprints seared into the stone walkway. The creature leaned against a nearby wall to rest, and the wall crackled and melted under its touch. It looked at the wall curiously. It touched the wall again, and nothing happened. Again, and this time the wall bubbled and crackled.

Finally it placed both paws against the wall, but the wall only melted under one paw. Whatever the melting ability was, the creature realized it had some control over it. As the creature wandered through the Shining Palace, leaving single, melted footsteps in its wake, its shape became more defined. It was male, and his chest and legs were the color of cooled lava, signifying clothing and armor. His head, arms, belly, and tail were the red-orange of hot lava.

He looked like a statue come to life. Stone on the outside, but inside, strange thoughts raced. A rampaging panda. A tiny bunny with gold fur, blue eyes, and black clothes sitting on the lap of a black panther, begging, "Daddy! What's happening?!". There was a lion, who was, at the same time, a panda. The baby bunny was also a fawn, an elephant calf, a teenaged pig, and an adult lioness.

The thoughts were confusing, but the lava creature decided they were important. He found a small, dark room and closed the door. He sat in the floor and meditated. As he focused inward, the orange glow of his body faded to a dull yellow-orange. And there he stayed, undisturbed for nearly half a century.


	3. Dragons

"_Life signs are fading!"_

_"Get him on the table, quickly!"_

_"Where's the clippers? Pantera's gonna need them!"_

_Re watched as the other dragons crowded around the table. They had all taken the forms of smaller creatures as they hurried to keep one from dying. Eager to understand what was going on, the tiny gold dragon tried to shapeshift. Pop!Her first transformation was into a baby bunny. She ran to Pantera, who had sat down in a chair._

_"Daddy! Daddy! What's happening?"_

_Pantera pulled her into his lap. "Pay attention, Sweetheart. You may have to do this yourself one day," he said. A tiger came and shaved the inside of the panther's elbow with the clippers. An ox tied a rubber band around Pantera's upper arm. A zebra ran her fingertips across the panther's arm searching for a good vein. When she found the vein, she inserted a needle._

_"Tubing!"_

_A stag handed her the tubing, and she twisted it into the coupling on the needle. Pantera started squeezing a rubber ball an otter had given him. Blood flowed into the tubing. "Daddy! Are you hurt?" Re asked, worried. As Re understood, people bleed when they get hurt, but no one had been hurt in the sanctuary. Not even a splinter._

_"A little," Pantera answered after a moment. "But if I can bear just a little pain, I can keep this one from dying," he explained, pointing toward the table. Re hadn't looked over there yet, and she followed the red tubing to the arm of a lion. She jumped from her father's lap to the edge of the table. She almost didn't make it._

_"Careful, Aurea!" Pantera cried. Re pulled herself up onto the table, safe. She looked at the torn, black pants leg, and then she headed for the other end. Avoiding the tubing, the tiny bunny climbed onto the lion's chest. Every moment, his breathing became steady and relaxed. His various cuts and bruises were healing quickly, but the large notch in his left ear stayed unchanged._

_"Vitals are stable," said the jackalope sitting beside the lion's ear. As the needles and tubing were gathered and taken away, Re watched the lion. On the whole, he was a small lion, more suited for jungles than grasslands. His fur was dark, almost black. He gave a moan as he woke up._

_The lion opened his orange eyes and yawned. "Hi, hi!" Re chirped. The lion pushed himself on his elbows. Evidently, the bunny was just too cute and cheerful for him._

_"Hi, yourself."_

The sound of vibrating wood and metal brought Re out of her flashback. A white tiger had stepped on the tines of a rake, sending the handle slamming into his nose. He staggered back, growling obscenities at the rake. _Seriously? This is the guy Dad chose as Wuxi's foster father?_ Re noticed the fur on top of his head stuck up strangely, as if an ox had licked his head.

_Ha, ha, oxlick. Wait, that's not right…_

Xu picked up the rake and headed for the field, although he didn't know what to do once he got there. The land had been a gift from his father-in-law. Xu could feel his nose growing hot and swollen, and he stopped walking. As Re watched, a panda came out of the house and ran to Xu. "Ai Ren, wait for me!" she said, handing him a hat like she wore.

"Tian, what are you doing?" he asked, removing his paw from his face to take the hat. "I came out here to--your nose!"Tian Mi said, seeing his swollen nose. She took his face in her paws to get a closer look. She clicked her tongue. "Come inside and let me make you a cold compress," she said, taking his arm.

"Tian, I'm just fine. I…,"Xu started. He thought he saw something gold and black, and he pulled the panda to the side. Re hid behind the concrete wall. "Maybe that's a good idea," he said, facing Tian again. "I think that rake has affected my eyesight."

Inside, Tian Mi happily doted on Xu. She brought him a cold compress and a glass of water. When she started scratching his ears, he gave a loud, raspy purr. When she was satisfied the he would all right, Tian started cleaning the dining room she had left to help her husband in the field.

"Since this is our house now, I want to make some changes. Like these pillows around the table. I want another color…"

Xu ignored her. She could talk like this for hours. Strangely enough, the sound of her voice was actually comforting. He sipped his water and gazed out the window. At one time, he would be daydreaming about being a kung fu master, but not today. A tigress with gold markings and black clothes walked past the window.

Xu strangled on the water. "Ai Ren!" Tian cried, running to him. She quickly assessed the situation and said, "Drink the rest of the water." Xu drained the glass and set it on the table. He did feel better, aside from the tickle in his throat. Tian hugged him and scratched his ears again. Then she returned to cleaning. Xu saw the tigress at the window again.

This time she held a finger to her lips. Shh. Xu nodded in response. She beckoned him, stepping away from the window. Xu looked from Tian to the tigress and back. Re smiled at him. _Good boy. I'll have to find another way to lure you out._The smile was what did it. Xu headed for the window.

_You idiot._Re kept the smile pasted on her face and stepped to the side. "And we still need to decide on paint. What color would you like?...Ai Ren?" Tian said, turning just in time to see her husband climbing out the window. "What are you doing?" she cried. Outside, Xu had lost track of Re. He looked all around and then up. She was standing on top of the wall. Re pointed to the gate, and Xu ran for it.

Tian watched as Xu spun in place and looked up. When he turned and ran around the house, she headed for the door. Xu beat her to the gate. As she followed him, she glimpsed something gold and black. She noticed Re on the wall. Re gave her a big, cheese-eating grin and back flipped off the wall. She ran off into the woods, Xu just behind. Tian growled and gave chase.

_WhatamIdoing? WhatamIdoing? WhatamIdoing?_Re lead Xu on a wild chase, zigzagging and doubling back to give Tian a chance to keep up. _Why did I choose today to be a tiger?_Re and Xu appeared in Tian's path, and she staggered back to avoid being run into. Someone caught her, and she turned to see a panther with green eyes.

"Come with me."

Pantera took Tian's arm. "But…," she pulled back, reluctant to follow the golden-robed panther. "Don't worry. We're all going to the same place," he said gently, taking her arm again. "Although my daughter could have found a different way to persuade your husband to follow her."

As they walked along the path, Re and Xu burst out of the foliage again. Re caught sight of Pantera and Tian and maneuvered to run around them. Tian called Xu "Sweetheart" again, and he stopped running. Tian walked up to him, and he stood up and crossed his arms. "She's…a tiger…too," he said, but he could not look the panda in the face.

Re smacked Xu upside the head. Then she ran to a nearby bamboo grove and slipped inside. Pantera cleared his throat and said, "Let's…just forget this happened, shall we?" He ushered the couple to the bamboo grove and held the grass aside so they could enter. Xu stepped through and turned to help Tian. She gave him a hurt look, and a fresh wave of guilt washed over him.

Inside, they found Re sitting, looking at something on the ground. She got up and came over. She leaned against Xu, pushing him against Tian. Then she rushed around and pressed Tian against Xu, trying to say, without words, that splitting them up had never been her intention. Re walked back to the panda cub, sleeping on the ground.

She nuzzled his neck, and he woke up. Wuxi's memory was still fuzzy, but something about her coloring seemed familiar. "R-Re?" he asked, sleepily. She stepped around him and walked toward the other side of the clearing. Re held her arms out and let the tiger form slip away. Xu and Tian stared at the undulation of gold scales and black fabric, somewhere between fright and joy. Re disappeared into the foliage on the other side.

Immediately, Xu and Tian Mi became aware of someone watching them. In the shade above the foliage were undulating shadows. More dragons. Dragons were good, helpful creatures, but they kept out of sight. Wuxi got up and dusted off his green shorts. He realized something wasn't quite right with his paws. His claws were out, and he was pretty sure they were supposed to be retractable. Then he remembered he was a panda instead of a lion, not that it made much sense.

Embraced, Xu and Tian started to back out of the clearing. Pantera leaned over and placed his claws on their shoulders. They jumped back in surprise. "Wait," he said gently. They looked in the direction the large black dragon was pointing and saw the panda cub again. He was looking at his paws, and then he looked at his tail. His tail wagged, and he looked back at his paws. He seemed confused.

Re leaned out of the shadows and gave Wuxi a nudge with her nose. He stumbled forward, but he didn't fall. He glanced back, but Re had already disappeared again. Turning back, he noticed Xu and Tian, Pantera hovering expectantly over them. Assuming this was what Re meant, he walked toward them and stopped in front of Tian.

Tian seemed to have lost her voice for a moment. Her mouth was open but smiling. She pointed at Wuxi and looked between him and Pantera. The dragon nodded. Tian scooped the little panda up and rubbed her nose against his. She examined his face and felt the notch in his ear. Wuxi let her. Something about her reminded him of someone long forgotten, although he did not know who.

She had big, golden-brown eyes, the color of honey. She was very pretty, Wuxi decided, and he placed his head under her chin and gave a little rumbling purr. Xu held his arms out, pads up, as he looked between Tian and Pantera. "…Pandas can't purr…what is going on?" he said. "He is a gift," Pantera explained.

"What? A kid? You—you couldn't give us someone who knows how to work in the field or something?"

Wuxi sensed Tian's mood change, and he stopped purring and lifted his head. "He could…ifyou asked nicely," Pantera said with a chuckle. "He will need a name," the dragon continued. "You don't have a name?" Tian asked Wuxi, but the cub said nothing. "Let's see…how about…Po?" she said. Wuxi thought for a moment, then nodded, smiling.

"Take good care of him," Pantera said, shifting to reveal some bamboo. He gently pulled the stalks aside, showing the way out. Tian climbed out, still carrying the cub, and Xu followed after. "I have to say, this is, like, the craziest day ever," Xu said. "Yes," Tian agreed. "And it's not even lunch yet." Po laid his ears back as his orange eyes grew wide.

"Look!"

"Hey, the kid's not mute after all," Xu said. Tian shook her head and looked in the direction the cub was pointing. The bamboo grove had vanished.


	4. Names

Po looked between his foster parents. Some of his memory of being Master Wuxi and the way things were had returned. "Arranged?" he asked softly. Tian stopped walking. "What?" she said, confused. Po could not remember the word for the bond. "It was…arranged, right?" he said, pointing at Tian and Xu. "Totally," Xu answered and continued walking. Tian looked at Po's orange eyes. Those were not the eyes of a panda.

"What's your name?"

"Tian Mi."

"Pretty, like you."

Tian allowed herself a small smile at that. "And him?" Po asked, pointing at Xu. Tian realized the cub's index finger was bright gold. "Ai Ren, he…wants…to know what your name is," she said, running the last words together as she caught up with her husband. Xu sighed. Tian never wanted to say his name.

"Xu."

"I see," Po said, nodding. The fur on the back of the tiger's neck stood up. "Let me guess: you were the only white cub in a litter of orange tigers," the panda cub said matter-of-factly. Xu nodded, surprised. Then his face darkened. "But it's not like anyone understands what it's like," he said roughly. The cub stared at him with unblinking orange eyes.

"I do. I was once someone else," the cub explained, looking between Tian and Xu again. "By some unusual happenstance, I have been given another chance to be good and undo some of the wrongs I have committed." Xu's brow furrowed. "What's a cub doing using the word 'happenstance'?" he said. "What was your name before, Bao Bao?" Tian asked the cub.

Po closed his eyes a moment, as if that particular memory still eluded him. Finally, he opened his eyes. "Wuxi," the cub said quietly, the word sounding more like the whoosh of his breath rather than an actual word. "Wuxi?" Xu asked, and the cub nodded. "Wow. Sucks to be you," the tiger said, understanding the insult. He started for the farmhouse again. Tian began to follow him, but the tiger's ears twitched, and he ran back to them.

"Wuxi as in 'the Wuxi finger hold' Wuxi?"

The cub nodded again. Xu began to gesture wildly. "My sister told me all about it. Like, how you hold your opponent's hand like…wait, how can you be Wuxi? You're a panda; pandas can't do kung fu," the tiger said. Tian's brow creased into a frown. It wasn't so much that pandas couldn't do kung fu. Most pandas didn't want to do kung fu. There were more important things to do, like…eat.

"I was a lion at…"Po started, and Tian's stomach gave an audible rumble. "One…point…," the cub finished. Tian gave a little embarrassed smile. Xu sighed. If he stayed with the panda much longer, he'd start looking like a panda himself, although there was less reason to leave than to stay.


	5. Adjusting

Xu headed for the field again, followed by Po and Tian Mi. After lunch, Tian was in a much better mood, and she smiled as Po darted through the long grass that came up to his waist. She checked inside the basket she carried. "I think we have everything, except…the rake and the watering can," Tian said.

"Xu! Father-dad-guy!"

Xu stopped walking as Po dug in the grass in front of the tiger. The cub lifted the rake clumsily out of the grass. The handle was easily more than twice the cub's height, but it only took a moment for him to steady the rake. Xu put his paw to his nose, remembering the handle of the rake slamming into his face. "Uh, thanks," he said, moving to take the rake. "Mine!" Po announced, taking a few steps back. He planted the rake next to him like a flag.

Tian laughed at the look on Xu's face. "Cubs are like that, you know," she said, coming to stand by the tiger. She placed the water can and the basket on the ground and slipped her arm behind Xu's back. "Yeah, but half the time he talks like an adult, and then…what is he doing now?" the tiger asked. Tian placed her head on Xu's shoulder.

"Looks like he's playing in the dirt to me."

Po had set the rake down. He was feeling the earth between his fingers, and he brought some up to his face to smell it.

"You know he isn't, though."

"Yes."

The cub got up and turned toward his adoptive parents. "How did your family usually plant?" he asked Tian. She pointed to the nearest corner of the field. "We always plant—," she started. "No," Po said. "If you do that, it's…I don't remember what the dragons called it, but it's bad for the soil, doing it that way." "How?" Xu asked.

"There's good things in the soil. N…something, I can't remember that word either. The plants take these good things out of the soil, but if you keep planting the same plants every year, these good things get depleted."

"Oh, I see," Tian said. "The soil is out of balance. I don't think my parents realized that. We just always used fertilizer." The cub shook his head.

"No fertilizer."

"Okay, but how can we put the soil back in balance?"

"Although the plants take certain good things, they also give back different good things. We just need to put the plants in different places every year."

"Okay, that makes sense," Tian said, nodding, and she turned to retrieve the basket and watering can. "Sounds more fun than smelly fertilizer anyway." The three worked for the rest of the afternoon, finishing about one eighth of the field. It was the first time Tian had not worked side by side with her parents, although her husband of two days and her adopted son had done more in half a day than her parents could do in several days. Maybe it was a feline thing.

As they cleaned up, Po asked for some paper and a brush, and Tian happily obliged. As she got dinner ready, Xu watched Po. The cub was drawing characters in the old language, and the curious tiger sat down across from him. "What are you doing?" he asked, but Po didn't answer. He placed a sheet of parchment between them.

"Can you read this?"

Xu looked at the paper. It held the character of 虛. It was his name. "Empty," he said distantly. Po placed another sheet of parchment between them. This one said, "呴." "Yawn or roar," Xu answered. Po placed a third parchment between them. 詡. "Harmony," the tiger replied. "Yes, but they're pronounced almost the same way, aren't they?" the cub urged. Xu looked down at the parchment again. 虛, 呴, 詡. They were all pronounced "Xu", although the inflection was different on each one.

"Why are you doing this?"

"People can still call you 'Xu', but they won't be calling you 'empty'."

Xu studied the parchment as he let the idea sink in. "This one," he said, touching the center parchment. "There are other—," Po started, but Xu interrupted. "This one," the tiger repeated. The cub handed Xu the parchment, and the tiger gazed at it thoughtfully. Po shuffled the rest of the papers, all with old language characters, and set them aside.

The cub's orange eyes studied the tiger for a moment. Xu seemed to be giving off a much happier aura now. This was the first time Po had had a chance to look at the white tiger closely. Xu had a cowlick on top of his head, and his lower jaw jutted out in an under bite.

_There was a feline-shaped hole in the rock. "You…can't defeat me," a voice echoed through the hole as someone scrambled up out of it._

The cub blinked his eyes, but the vision disappeared as fast as it had arrived. "Dinner's ready," Tian announced, wiping her paws on her apron. "Look at this," Xu said, handing her the parchment. Tian examined the paper. "What's this?" she asked.

"My new name."

The panda looked over the parchment at the tiger and raised an eyebrow, giving her eye patches a distinct look.

"'Yawn?'"

"No! Roar! Grrrr!"

Tian smiled at her husband. "Okay…'Xu', Ai Ren," she said, kissing his nose and handing him the parchment. The panda headed for the dining room, and the white tiger followed, his tail held high for probably the first time in his life. Po watched them as they walked away. A flurry of memories bounced around inside of his head, begging to be understood, but only one thought made it through the barrier of his manufactured youth.

"Yuck!"

Tian burst into giggles in the next room.


End file.
